Goodnight and Goodbye
by Dollimesh
Summary: A girl that never stopped smiling, even when she was about to die, is one way to describe Amy Horton. Another way to describe her would be the new girl, or the weird happy girl, but those don't fit either. My way of describing her is: the girl I loved.


**GOODNIGHT AND GOODBYE**

I remember the first time I met her. It was in the middle of the fifth grade and she had moved here from Oregon. She was just an ordinary ten year old girl, there was absolutely nothing special about her, but I can't forget her. She stood nervously by the teacher's side, gripping her bag tightly.

"Class, settle down! We have a new student, her name is Amy Horton. She just moved here from Salem, Oregon. Please make her feel welcomed here." The teacher announced warmly. I turned away and focused back on my work. She was just a girl. Just a scrawny blond haired girl.

For a whole month I had forgotten entirely about her. It was until I saw a girl crying underneath a tree that I realized it was the new girl. I couldn't just turn away from here then, so I sighed and walked over to her. I asked her why she was crying, and she replied, "Trey keeps calling me a witch."

I nearly laughed. "Just tell him you're going to curse him if he calls you names again." I shook my head and walked away.

Trey the class bully liked to tease little girls, whether it be about their hair or freckles or glasses, or in this case where she used to live, he enjoyed every moment of it. However, in the next few days he hadn't been making fun of people anymore. The new girl had come running over to me at recess a few days after, her face bright as the sun as she smiled.

"Thank you! It worked!" She giggled and held out her hand. "I'm Amy! What's your name?"

"James Collins."

"James, will you be my very first friend?" She asked me, smiling.

Looking back, I realized I never actually answered her. I regret it now, if I could turn back time I would have taken her hand and said I would be her friend till the very end, and I would promise with my life, even if I couldn't keep it. I would swear to God that I would be with her even if she wasn't there, but that could never happen.

That's how I met Amy Horton, and we were always together for the remainder of fifth and sixth grade. It wasn't until we reached middle school, and he had schedules that we started to drift apart. I realized after the first day of middle school that Amy didn't have any of my classes, and we had different lunches. I didn't see her at all during the day and I was happy. Amy was always so annoyingly happy. I would make fun of her behind her back, and now that I was finally rid of her I was happy. Everything was going perfectly until she changed her schedule. We now had the same PE class. I half expected her to come running up to me like before, but she didn't. She had walked right past me and didn't even say hi.

Something was wrong.

I saw her every morning, and every time it would be the same thing. I was going crazy trying to figure out what happened, what had stolen her smile? I got very angry and finally I couldn't take it anymore. I walked right up to her and I was going to lay it down. I was going to make her tell me what was wrong.

But I couldn't.

Instead I said, "Aren't you going to say 'Hello' to me anymore?"

Instantly her face perked up and she smiled that same familiar smile. Her eyes gleamed and she giggled, "Hello, James!"

I was happy again. And we were together every morning, and we'd never separate until the period ended. Everyone in that class thought we were going out, but we weren't.

A school year passed, and we were eighth graders now. We had two classes together and the same lunch, so we were happy. It was better than last year anyway. At least, we were happy for a while. About a month into our second year in middle school, Amy changed. Her skin grew paler, she looked skinnier, and she was sitting out during PE. Another thing was she was beginning to miss school. She never missed a day of school in her entire life. I knew something was up, so during lunch one day I asked her.

At first she refused to tell me, she said it was too sad, but eventually she gave in. "I have cancer, James. I'm dying."

"Don't joke about things like that!" I nearly screamed at her.

"I wish things were different." She whispered, a small smile on her lips.

I was both angry and confused and depressed. I couldn't understand what she had meant, until she asked me to go with her to the hospital. The doctor had explained everything to me. He made my nightmare into reality, and there was no escaping it now. I couldn't just shake my head now and say it was only a dream, it was _real_. Even if I didn't want it to be.

Still, I stood by Amy's side. I stuck with her till she had to be hospitalized because she was getting weaker. I would visit her every day after school. I would bring cards and show her magic tricks and play games and watch movies. I was determined to spend as much time with her as possible before it was too late.

She had brain cancer, so sometimes she acted totally crazy. The doctor had pulled me aside one day and told me her memories were beginning to fade. I scoffed and told him that she could never forget me, but the next day when I came to visit hers she did.

"Amy! I learned a new card trick. Want to see it?" I walked in holding a deck of cards in the air.

She looked up at me with blank eyes and smiled, "Who are you?"

My heart broke. The cards fell my from hands and I cried. I can't explain how I felt, only that I had broken apart. I was really sobbing my eyes out. Amy, in her ignorance, asked me what was the matter. I couldn't tell her that it was because I loved her and she didn't love me back because she couldn't even remember who I was. I couldn't tell her that, it would overwhelm her.

"Please don't cry! You'll make me cry. What's your name?" She tried to cheer me up.

"James." I whispered.

She smiled, "Will you be my very first friend, James?"

When I didn't reply, she tried something else. "You wanted to show me a card trick? What is it?" Amy smiled earnestly at me.

I stood up, wiped my tears and took a deep breath. My heart was still aching, but I showed her the card trick. She loved it so much she wanted me to teach it to her, so I did. And I had to for three days straight, because she kept forgetting. Her memory at first lasted as long as a day, then it shortened to a few hours.

My last visit to the hospital will be etched in my mind forever. The way her small body looked as she lay in the fading white bed, in the big empty room. How she was still smiling, even in the last moments of her life. I had come to visit her again, and again I had to tell her who I was, but this time things were different. She didn't ask me if I would be her friend this time she said, "I remember you."

My heart skipped a beat at those words. "Amy!" That was all I could say.

She started to tell me everything, from the moment she first met me to the many card tricks I've taught her. She remembered everything. I thought she was healed, so I hugged her and cried.

"You're going to be all right now, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, James. I'm all right now. It doesn't even hurt anymore." She smiled, "I'm just a little tired now, let me rest a little."

I understood. It must have been overwhelming to suddenly remember everything, so I nodded and sat on the chair next to her bed and smiled, "Goodnight."

Amy didn't say goodnight, she whispered, "Goodbye," and closed her eyes. At first, I truly thought she was only sleeping, but then I started to feel uneasy. And her last word kept repeating over and over again in my head, so I tried to wake her up. I shook her and called her name, but she wouldn't open her eyes. The tears fell as I screamed in her face, daring her to keep sleeping. The nurses had to come in and pry me off of her body.

Amy Horton smiled from the first time I knew her, till the moment I lost her. I loved her and still do, I believe she loved me too, she just couldn't remember.

Goodnight, Amy and goodbye.

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**This is based off a true story, except no one dies in the real life story. That person merely moved far far away, and it is switched. I am the character James (Though I am a girl) and Amy is the boy I loved. I hope you all enjoyed this! I enjoyed writing it. I just really wanted to write a narrative about something, but in a boy's persona. I think it turned out quite well. Don't you think? Review please!  
**


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